Interpol seeks clues to Thai 'baby factory'

Aug. 22, 2014
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Thai police major General Naiyawat Phadermchit speaks to the media outside Lat Phrao police station in Bangkok on August 19, 2014. Thai authorities said that they were testing the DNA of a Japanese man at the centre of a "baby factory" scandal to determine if he is the biological father. / NICOLAS ASFOURI AFP/Getty Images

by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

BANGKOK (AP) - Interpol says it has launched a multinational investigation into what Thailand calls the "Baby Factory" case: a 24-year-old Japanese businessman who has 16 surrogate babies.

Thai police raided a Bangkok condominium this month and found nine babies and nine nannies. They have since identified Mitsutoki Shigeta as the father of those babies - and seven others.

Thailand's Interpol director, police Maj. Gen. Apichart Suribunya, said Friday that investigators want to know why Shigeta had so many children. He has not been charged with a crime and wants his children back. Twelve are in Thailand and four are in Cambodia.

Apichart says Interpol offices in Japan, Cambodia, Hong Kong and India have been asked to probe Shigeta's background. Police say he appears to have registered businesses or apartments in those countries.

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